brown



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, G. W. BROWN. APPARATUS FOR STOPPING ENGINES.

No. 544,085. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

i I E l i 1 I? A. J

70 a i 2- 01/ 7: :h L6" 5 I? bl/k FE- k OJ .1 L 1,, \X/ITNEIEEESI (NoModel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. W. BROWN.

APPARATUS FOR STOPPING ENGINES.

No. 544,085. Patented Aug. 6, 1895.

\XA NE EEE:

RMMAMQ.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GILMAN W. BROWN, OF WEST NEWBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOHAYDN BROWN, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR STOPPING ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,085, dated August6, 1895.

Application filed June 8, 1895- Serial No. ,0 (NO 101181.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GILMAN W. BROWN, of Vest Newbury, in the county ofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Stopping Steam-Engines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has for its chief object to provide means for quicklyshutting off the to steam from the .pipe or conduit that conducts steamfrom a boiler to an engine and at the same time opening an outlet insaid conduit between the point where the steam is shutoff and theengine, so'that. the steam remaining [5 in said conduit will not operateexpansively and continue to impel the engine after the steam has beenshut off.

The invention also has for its object to provide means for automaticallyshutting off the steam in the event of the breakage of the steam-pipebetween the shutting-off device and theengine, so that the contents ofthe boiler will'not be blown out to such an extent as to render anexplosion liable.

The invention consists, first, in an enginestopping appliance comprisinga casing or conduit adapted to form a part of the steamconduit whichsupplies the engine and provided with a steam-outlet, a normally-closedo o'utletvalve, and a pressure-actuated motor which is inoperative underordinary conditions, and is adapted to be made operative to open saidoutlet-valve, thereby immediately relieving the steam-pressure in theconduit 5 between the steam-outlet and the boiler and causing animmediate stoppage of the engine.

The invention also consists in the employment of a shut-off valveconnected with said outlet-valve and motor, the arrangement be- 40 ingsuch that the shut-off valve, which is normally open, is closed by theoperation of the motor simultaneously with the opening of theoutlet-Valve.

The invention also consists in the employment of a let-0ft device,whereby the said motor may be made instantly operative, all of which Iwill now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents a sectional View of an apparatus embodying myinvention, the outlet being closed by its valve. Fig. 2 representsasimilar view show ing the outlet open. Fig. 3 representsa section online 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking toward the left. Fig. 4 represents a sectionon line 4 4 of Fig. 1 and a top view of the parts below said line. Fig.5represents a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 represents anelevation showing my improved apparatus applied to the steam-conduitconnecting an engine with a boiler. Figs. 7 and 8 represent viewsshowing a speed-controlled circuit-closing devicefor openingthecylinder-vent when the speed of the engine becomes excessive.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

In the drawings, a represents acasing,which is adapted to form a part oftheconduit which supplies steam to a steam-engine, said casing beinghere shown as provided at its ends with flanges a a, adapted to besecured to similar flanges on the sections a a of said conduit.

a represents an outlet connecting said casing with the external air,said outlet having at its inner end an annular valve-seat a 12represents the outlet-closing valve, which is formed to be seated uponthe seat a and is adapted to be held upon said seat by thesteam-pressure in the casing under normal conditions.

0 represents a governing-piston, which is connected by a rod or stem dwithin the outlet-valve b and is located in a cylinder (1, which forms apart of the casing, said cylinder opening at one end, which I term themouth of the cylinder, into the casing and having at its other end avent a, which is preferably a pipe, extending from said cylinder andprovided with a valve a whereby it 0 may be opened and closed.

The governing-piston c fits the interior of the cylinderafisomewhatloosel y, so that steam can pass around it into the cylinder,as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, steam being 5 thus caused tobalance the governing-piston so long as the vent a remains closed. Solong as the governing-piston is thus balanced the shut-off valve orvalves, hereinafter described, are held open and the outlet-valve b isclosed, the latter being subjected to a steam-pressure upon one sideonly.

The piston c is of greater area than the outlet-valve, so that when thevent of the cylinder is opened, as hereinafter described, it re leasesthe pressure from the cylinder and thereby unbalances thegoverning-piston, the steam-pressure exerted on the inner side of thegoverning-piston displacing the latter and forcing it into the cylinderand removing the outlet-valve from its seat, thus opening the outlet a,as shown in Fig. 2, and permitting a discharge of the steam into theatmosphere. This operation relieves the pressure in the casing and inthe conduitbetween the casing and the engine sufficiently to prevent thepressure of the steam between the casing and the engine from continuingthe operation of the engine.

Between the steam-inlet end and the steamoutlet end of the casing is anoffset-partition a", which projects from the inlet end of the casingacross the central portion thereof and is provided with two ports a a,through which steam passes from the inlet to the discharge side of thecasing, the valve-stem (Z passing through said ports, as shown inFig. 1. Between the valve Z) and piston c is located a shut-off valve e,also affixed to the stem d. When the outlet-valveis closed upon its seata it is separated from the port a and the shut-off valve 6 is separatedfrom the port a, both of said ports being unobstructed, so that thesteam passes through them, as indicated in Fig. 1. The relativearrangement of the valves 1) and e and the ports a a is such that whenthe governingpiston is unbalanced and displaced, as shown in Fig. 2, theoutletvalve closes the port a and the shutoff valve 6 closes the port a,so that when the outlet c" is opened the passage of steam through thecasing is at the same time shut off. It will be seen therefore that Iprovide for simultaneously shutting off the supply of steam to theengine and relieving the pressure of steam that would exist between thecasing and the engine if the outlet a and its valve were not employed. Ithus cause a much quicker stoppage of the engine than would be possiblewithout the employment of the said outlet.

I believe it to be new to provide an outlet to the atmosphere for asteam pipe or conduit leading to an engine, and I therefore do not limitmyself to the arrangement of the outlet here shown, nor to theconstruction, arrangement, and mode of operation of the valve whichcontrols said outlet. Neither do I limit myself to the utilization ofthe said valve as a means for shutting oil the passage of steam throughthe casing, as the port a may be omitted, the partition a being closedaround the valve-stem d, in which case the valve I) would have nofunction excepting to close the outlet. Neither do I limit myself to theemployment of the outlet and its closing-valvo in connection with avalve for shutting oil the passage of steam through the easing, sincethe outlet-valve will open and close the outlet whether the shut-offvalve e be employed or not, although of course it is in. all respectsdesirable to provide for the simulta neous shutting off of the flow ofsteam through the casing and the opening of the outlet.

The valve a",which opens and closes the vent of the cylinder, may beoperated by any desired means. I have here shown electrically controlledmeans for opening said valve, said means including a weightf, titted toslide upon a vertical guide, such as the vent-pi pe (L said weighthaving an inclined face f upon its lower portion formed to engage alever g, which is pivoted at g to the valve casing and bears upon thestem g of the valve, the arrangement being such that when the weight fis dropped from the elevated position shown in Fig. i it will move thelever g, as shown in Fig. 2, and cause the latter to open the valve. Theweight fis provided with a flange at its upper end, which is engaged bya trigger or trip h, pivoted at h to a fixed casing i, which may besecured to the cylinder a, or may be supported in any other suitableway. Said trigger has an elongated arm in, which projects downwardlyinto the casing t', and is provided at its lower end with a stud it".

71 representsa lever pivoted at. h to the casing 2', and provided withastud h", arranged to engage said stud lbs. The lever 71 is provided atits upper end with a stud 717, which is engaged bya stud h projectingfrom a lever 71.", pivoted at 71 to the casing '5. An armature h isattached to the lever 7L said armature being arranged in suitableproximity to the poles of an electromagnet it, supported in the casing2', said magnet being included in an electric circuit. When the circuitis broken and the armature is released, the le ver h is held in theposition shown in Fig. 1 by gravitation, its stud h being engaged withthe stud h on the lever h, which is held by said stud. The stud 7L onthe lever h is thus caused to hold the stud 7L3, lever fig, and trig geror trip h, the latter being therefore caused to hold the weight f in itsraised position. When the circuit is closed, the armature is attractedand separates the stud it from the stud 7LT, releasing the lever h whichin turn releases the lever Wand the trigger h. The weightf is thusreleased and allowed to drop and open the valve in the vent of thecylinder. A spring j is attached to the bottom of the casing i and isengaged with a projection on the lever 7t, said spring operating toreturn the lever h to its raised position after the stud h3 on thetrigger-lever has passed out of engagement with the stud 7:. The leverh" is brought into engagement with the stud 7t of the armature-leverjust as it reaches its raised position, so that it is ready to engageand lock the trigger-lever 72,2 when the latter is returned to theposition shown in Fig. 1. The

trigger-lever is returned to said position by the contact of the flangef on the weight: with an ear or projection it on the triggerlever whenthe weight is being raised, the triggeracross lever being thus restoredto and locked in its operative position and prepared for the nextoperation. The ends of the studs h and h are beveled, as shown in Fig.5, so that when the trigger-lever is being moved back, as lastdescribed, it is slightly sprung laterally when passing the stud 7t andthen springs back, thus engaging its stud h with the stud h The circuitin which the electromagnet is included may extend to any desired part orparts of the establishment where the apparatus is employed, and may haveany desired number of circuit-closing devices.

The vent-valve may be opened by auto matic means, to produce theabove-described result. In Fig. 6 I show automatic means adapted to beoperated by the breakage of the of the conduit, preferably by Wires orother securing devices passed around the conduit and the tube, the tubeextending practically the entire length of the conduit. In case theconduit is broken at any point along which the tub'etextends, the tubewill also be broken and will thus permit the escape of pressure from thecylinder of, the tube being normally closed at all points exceptingwhere it com municates with said cylinder. The breakage of the pipe orconduit which conducts steam from a boiler to an engine is not anuncommon occurrence and is usually attended wit-h an explosion of theboiler. It will be seen that the provision above described, while beingof a very simple and practical nature, is likely to prevent an explosionunder circumstances above described. The pipe t should be so thin thatwhile it will withstand ordinary pressures it will not be likely toremain intact in case the conduit (1 is broken.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I show speed-controlled means for closing the circuitthrough the magnet 71 and thus automatically releasing the weight whenthe. speed of the engine becomes excessive. 0 represents a frictionwheel, which is in rolling contact with the main shaft 0' or otherrotating part-of the engine and is aftixed to 'a shaft 0 having abevelgear 0 meshing with a gear 0 on a spindle 0 to the upper end ofwhich is affixed a cup 0 containing a body of mercury 0". In the upperpart of the cup 0 is adisk or head 0 of a conducting metal insulatedfrom the walls of the cup by a ring 0 of insulating material. The disk 0is in contact through a rod or spindle 0 passing through aninsulating-cap 0 with a contact-sprin g 0 which is insulated from theframe and is connected with one of'the circuit-wires, the other wirebeing connected through'any suitable conducting mediumsuch as thesupporting frame, the shaft 0 and the cup 0 -with the body of mercury inthe cup. When the cup is at rest, the mercury remains in the conditionshown in Fig. '7; but when the cup is rotated the mercury rises on thesides of the cup by centrifugal action, and when the rotation becomessuch as would be produced by an excessively-rapid rotation of the shaft0' the mercury rises sufficiently to make contact with the disk 0 thusclosing the circuit and causing the weightf to drop, with the resultsabove set forth. l/Vhen the engine stops, the mercury resumes its normalcondition, breaking the circuit. The shaft 0 and spindle 0 are journaledin a frame 0 which is pivoted at o to a supporting arm or bracket, thefriction-wheel 0 being thus held in contact with the shaft 0 by its ownweight and that of the frame and its attachments.

Instead of balancing the governing-piston by steam, in the mannerdescribed, to hold it in its inoperative position, the piston may beheld in said position by a body of liquid filling the cylinder andretained therein by the vent-closing valve, said liquid being releasedwhen the vent is opened. In this case the piston should have aliquidtight sliding fit in the cylinder.

It will be seen that the cylinder a and piston c constitute a motoradapted to be actuated by the steam-pressure in the conduit to open 'theoutlet-valve or to simultaneously open the outlet-valve and close theshut-off valve, said motor being normally inoperative, and that eitherof the described means employed to open the vent constitutes a let-offdevice which makes the motor operative.

I am the first, so far as I am aware, to combine with a steam-conduithaving an outlet into the atmosphere a normally-closed outletvalve, anormally-open shut-off valve, a normally-inoperative motor adapted to beactu ated by the steam-pressure in the conduit, and a let-off devicewhereby said pressure may be caused to operate the motor, thearrangement being such that the operation of the motor simultaneouslyopens the outletvalve and closes .the shut-off valve. I do not,therefore, limit myself to the particular devices here shown comprisingthe elements of said combination.

1. As a means for stopping an engine, a casing or conduit provided witha steam-outlet, a normally closed outlet-valve, a normally open shut-offvalve, a normally inoperative pressure-actuated motor for simultaneouslyopening the outlet-valve and closing the shutofi valve, and a let-offdevice whereby the motor may be made operative.

2. Asa means for stopping an engine, a cas ing or conduit provided witha steam-outlet and with a cylinder havinga vent,anormally closedoutlet-valve, and a normally inoperative governing piston movable insaid cylinder and connected with the outletvalve, said piston beingoperative by the steam pressure to open the outlet-valve when the Ventis opened.

3. As a means for stopping an engine, a casing or conduit provided witha steam outlet and with a cylinder havinga vent, a piston IlO movable insaid cylinder, a normally closed outlet-valve, and a normally openshut-off valve connected with said piston, the piston being operative bythe steam pressure to open the outlet-valve and close the shutoff valvewhen the said vent is opened.

4. A casing adapted to form a part of a steam conduit and provided witha steam-out let, a cylinder having a vent, and a partition having twosteam-ports or passages, combined with a valve located between theoutlet and one of said ports and adapted to be held against the outletby steam pressure, a piston connected with said outlet-valve and locatedin said cylinder, and a shut-off valve connected with the outlet-valveand piston and adapted to close the other port or passage.

5. An engine-stopping apparatus comprising a casing provided with asteam-outlet and with a cylinder havinga vent, an outlet-closing valveWithin the casing adapted to beheld in its closed position by the steampressure, and a piston connected with the outlet-valve and located inthe cylinder, said piston being formed to admit steam around it to thecylinder and maintain a balancing pressure therein, and means foropening said vent to release the said pressure and unbalance the piston.

65. Asa means for stopping an engine, a caslug adapted to form a part ofthe steam conduit which supplies the engine and provided with asteam-outlet and with a cylinder hav ing a vent, an Outletclosing valvewithin the casing adapted to be held in its closed position by the steampressure, a valve'governing piston movable in said cylinder andconnected with the outlet-valve, a valve adapted to close said vent, avalve-operating device adapted to be set for action, and a trigger ortrip whereby said operating device may be released.

7. Asa means for stopping an engine, a casing adapted to form a part ofthe steam conduit which supplies the engine and provided with asteam-outlet and with a cylinder having a vent,an outletcl0sing valveWithin the casing adapted to be held in its closed position by the steampressure, a valve-governing piston movable in said cylinder andconnected with the outlet-valve, a valve adapted to close said vent, anexternal arm connected with the valve, a valve-operating weight movableon afixed guide into and out of contact with said arm, a trigger or tripformed to engage said weight and hold it in an elevated position, and anelectrically controlled trigger locking and releasing device.

8. A casing adapted to form a part of a steam conduit and provided withan offset partition between its receiving and discharge ends, saidpartition having two ports connecting the ends of the conduit, asteam-outletat the discharge side of said partition, a valveseatsurrounding said outlet, and a cylinder also at the discharge side ofthe partition and provided with a vent, said valve-seat, ports, andcylinder being arranged in line with each other; combined with a pistonlocated in the cylinder and prevented from moving therein when the ventof said cylinder is closed, a shut-off valve and an outlet-valve,

connected with said piston, and means for opening and closing the saidvent.

9. The combination of a steam conduit having an outlet and a cylinder, apiston movable in said cylinder, an outlet-closing valve and a shut-01fValve, both connected with said piston, a vent controlling the operationofsaid piston and valve as described, and speed-controlled means foropening said vent.

10. A safety appliance for a steam conduit, the same comprising a casingforming a part of said conduit and provided with a cylinder and with anoutlet open to the atmosphere, a piston movable in said cylinder, anoutletclosing valve and a shut-oil valvein said casing connected withthe piston, a vent controlling the operation of said piston and valve,and means for opening said vent.

11. A safety appliance for a steam conduit, the same comprising a casingforming a part of said conduit and provided with a cylinder, a pistonmovable in said cylinder, a shut-off valve in said casing connected withthe piston, and a closed tube communicating at one end with the cylinderand extending therefrom along the conduit, said tube being attached tothe conduit, so that in the event of breakage of the conduit the tubewill be broken and constitute a vent for the cylinder.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 10th day of April, A. D.1895.

GILMAN \V. BROWN.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, A. D. HARRISON.

